Lecture delivered by Sheikh Mas'ud Ali on 19 April 2018 at Ahlul Bait (a.s) Mosque, Ottery, Cape Town for the commemoration of the birth anniversary of Imam Husayn (a.s). Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We send Salutation to our holy Prophet and his holy progeny (May the peace of Allah be upon them all) Allah says in the Holy Quran: Our Lord! we believe in the commandments your sent, and followed the messenger, we beg you to count us among those who bear withness. Tonight we celebrate the birth of our holy Imam (as). We congratulate the Imam of our time, our Maraji, Sayids and Sadat as the revivers of the Mesage of Ahlulbait (as). Our topic for tonight is Imam al-hussein: the pride of humanity Our examination comes in three stages. (1) Fatherhood and Imam Hussein (as) (2) Imam Hussein and Ubudiyya (servitude) (3) Being witness to Imam Hussein's position and virtues. The Prophet (sawa) said: I and Ali are the fathers of this Umma (nation). 1 / 5
According to a narration attributed to Ahlulbait (as) there are three types of fathers: (1) Your biological father (Abu al-tin) (2) You father in law (al-amm) and (3) Your spiritual teacher (Abu al-ruh) According to this narration, The spiritual father is more important and superior to other fathers. In this sense the Prophet (sawa) and Ahlulbait (a.s) are our fathers though not biological. People repeatedly ask Allah to guide them on the path of those spiritual fathers since Allah has favored them (Quran chapter 1: 5-6)... It is important to draw your attention to Aba Abdillah al- Hussein (as)... Imam al-sadique (as) has adviced Safwan (His companion) to address Imam Hussein in the following Peace be upon you Aba Abdillah. The above line may be seen to be short but it has a lot inside it. (1) Imam Hussein is addressed as Aba Abdillah meaning the father of those who worship. In other words Imam Hussein is a father and a master to all those who worship Allah. To further explain the mastership in Ubudiyya (servitude) of Imam Hussein (as), the Ahlubait mystics gave attention to the three letter word A B D (servant). To them the letter ain stands for ilmuhu lillah (His knowledge about Allah). The letter Ba stands for Bounuhu amma siwa al-lah (His detachment from this world except Allah). And the letter "daal" stands for Dunuwwuhu lillah (meaning his close ness to Allah) 2 / 5
It is important to note that the term abd was always preferred by our Prophet hence we see it attached to his name as abduhu or abdihi (Quran 17:1). From the above explanation questions are raised If people claim they are servants, then how much knowledge of Allah to they possess? Are they detached from this world like Imam Hussein? How close are they to Allah? For one to actually be a real servant of Allah, one need Aba abdillah al-hussein (as)...servitude has manifested itself in the entire life of Aba Abdilla. In his words I left all creation for your sake, my children are made orphans so that I may see you (Allah), if I were to be cut into pieces my heart will never divert a bit from you. Today people are busy looking for proof to accept Allah. For Imam Hussein Allah is manifest and need no proof to accept Him. In dua Arafa when were you never hidden for you to be seen through proofs? Allah says: we shall show them our signs in the horizon and within themselves until it appears clear to them that He exists. No doubt, the Imam just like his father and ma asumeen have special achievements which no one before or after will attain. Example, no one has born in Kaba and will ever be born in Kaba except Imam Ali (as). Imam Hussein (a.s)'s beginning in this world was with tears as Prophet (sawa) cried when he was born, his end was also with tears due to his martyrdom. The effort displayed by Imam Hussein (a.s) to revive the beautiful religion of Islam is unprecedented and will remain unique...if it was not because of Imam Hussein (a.s), we may not have been here. Imam Hussein (a.s) has provided knowledge (ma arifa) about himself...but the Prophet (sawa) has given even more (ma arifa) about Hussein (a.s) 3 / 5
The Prophet (sawa) said: Hussein is from me and I m from Hussein. Allah love whoever loves Hussein, Husein is a grandson among grand sons. From this great saying the conclusion is that the life and beginning of Islam is Muhammad (sawa), but the sustenance and revival of Islam is in the hands of Hussein (a.s). As we have read above oh Lord! We have believed and followed the messenger, we are begging to be counted among those who bear withness (shahidin). (Ali imran 53) From here, we understand better the advice of Imam al-sadiq to Safwan who gave six beautiful witnesses (testiments) for Imam al-hussein (as) in ziyarat al- waritha: (1) I bear witness that You established prayer and paid zakat And enjoined man to do good, And forbade them for doing wrong, And obeyed Allah and His Messenger with absolute certainty. (2) O Aba Abdullah (asws)! I bear witness that You were noor before and during Your era, The stains of ignorance never touched You and the garment of disbelief never did cast its shadow upon You, (3) I bear witness that you are the pillar of the religion and leader of momineen (believers) (4) I bear witness that truly, You are the righteous imam, al Taqi, al Reza, al Zaki, al Hadi (guide), al Mahdi (awaited one) (5) And I bear witness, that the nine Aimmah (asws) who are Your descendants are words of piety, the banners of guidance, the strong rope and the hujjat (proof) of Allah upon the whole world. (6) And that I call as my witness, Allah and His angels, Prophets and messengers, That I have faith in You, and I believe in your resurrection, and I am convinced of the laws of my religion and the results of my actions And that my heart surrenders to You, and my affairs are in obedience to your command. 4 / 5
Why should we not be associate our self and be proud of our father, Aba abdillah al-husein???? In salawat sha'aban we read: they (Ahlulbait) are likened as the sailing ship in the violent sea...one who gets in will be saved and one who did not will be in trouble. May Allah accept our humble gathering, fill our heart with the love of Aali Muhammad (a.s). PLEASE LIKE I SHARE I COMMENT Www.afosa.org Ph: +27827832122 5 / 5